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Angela Rushforth, managing director at East Anglian independent timber and builders merchant Ridgeons, will be announced as the first female Chair of the Confederation British Industry (CBI) East of England Regional Council from next month (January).
The two year appointment will see Rushforth, who is currently Vice Chair, succeed from departing Chair, Andy Woods CEO of Adnams.
She will be responsible for ensuring that the voices of businesses in the region are heard in Westminster, Whitehall, Brussels and beyond, while also promoting the interest of businesses across the East of England.
“It is a real honour to be invited to take this key strategic role within the region,” said Rushforth.
“There are a number of strands from the CBI’s priorities under the ‘delivering prosperity for businesses’ theme that particularly resonates with me. Helping to drive these will be key objectives for me over the forthcoming year.
“Getting Britain building to deliver jobs and investment is an area where I feel that I can add real weight and expertise. Through my day to day involvement within the construction industry I am hoping that we can make real in roads in increasing the supply of new homes for the future.
“Leveraging opportunities to work with schools around the region to ensure growth makes a difference to everyone is another priority where I can add real value. For a number of years the Ridgeons Group has worked closely with local schools to address employability skills and these partnerships will provide a great foundation from which we can start to raise ambitions for all within schools.”
As Chair of the CBI Angela will work closely with council members to develop and influence policy both regionally and nationally, attending quarterly meetings in London and hosting a variety of strategic business events throughout the year.
